Gender Roles In Shakespeares Ophelia And Hamlet - 1258 Words

While the stage was seen as a way to break the barriers of gender norms during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Shakespeare both defies these gender norms by creating characters in Hamlet, both male and female, that do not seem to be able to apply reasoning to their abilities and enforces the concepts of gender roles by writing Ophelia as a quiet and subordinate woman. The Great Chain of Being dictates that logic and reasoning are the defining factors that separate animals from humans. However, both Ophelia and Hamlet, two of the leading characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, seem to comply with the idea of reasoning, and thus, reinforcing the ideas set forth by the Great Chain of Being. According to Carolyn Merchant’s The Death of Nature:†¦show more content†¦Laertes tries his best to convince Ophelia that â€Å"if [Hamlet] says he loves [her],/ it fits [her] wisdom [...] to believe it† (1.3.24). By this, it could be assumed that Laertes is predicting that it would seem likely that Ophelia would fall under the impression of Hamlet loving her, regardless if it was true. As her brother takes his leave, Ophelia tells him that she will lock his warnings in her mind with Laertes holding the key to this memory. In this instance, Ophelia’s place in her family is shown as being the lesser of the siblings. Her father tries to convince her that â€Å"when the blood burns, how prodigal the soul/Lends the tongue vows† (1.3.116). By this, Polonius’s words reinforce the idea that Ophelia’s ideas of Hamlet are led by passion rather than logic. If she were to be thinking logically, it is assumed that she would not have been confuse d about the meaning of Hamlet s words that were said to her in their moments of passion. Ophelia’s agreement with her father that she will not believe Hamlet’s words of passion led to the push of Hamlet becoming obsessed with his hatred of her. In the scene following Ophelia’s realization of the falsehood in Hamlet’s words, Hamlet’s confrontation with what he believes is the ghost of his father propels him to what might be seen as madness. One of the questions that is constantly brought forth in regards to Hamlet, is whether or not Hamlet is truly mad or if he is merely playing the part. AreShow MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeare s Hamlet - A Fatal Flaw953 Words   |  4 Pages Everyone in Hamlet has a fatal flaw. However, some of the characters, such as Gertrude and Ophelia, have little to no control over the conflicts that arise, and their flaw is their inability to make decisions for themselves. These two women are unable to resolve problems by themselves because they are females, and during this time period females were not given any type of authority. 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